Feelings Are Fatal
by crashapricots
Summary: It's the night of Hyrule's annual ball to celebrate the past chosen heroes and reincarnations of Hylia, to Zelda this means a night of judgment for not accessing her sealing powers yet. There's only so much pressure she can take, luckily Link is by her side to encourage her.


Zelda let out a sigh as she sat down at her vanity, which proved quite difficult. The puffy material of her ballgown was challenging to move around in. She looked into the vanity's mirror and couldn't help but wince, she felt like a child who snuck into her mother's closet. She has always preferred her riding clothes. She liked how comfortable and easy they were to move around in. As strange as it sounds, she likes how free she feels in them.

However, this extravagant ball gown felt like a prison. The off the shoulder straps clutched to her like she was chained up and the puffy floor-length skirt felt like glorified shackles. The royal blue color was supposed to make her stand out, but she thought it made her look washed-out. The only thing she liked about the gown is the tiny embroidered silent princesses throughout the dress.

As if she couldn't feel anymore ridiculous, her normally straight hair was wavy and fluffed up. She groaned in disapproval, she felt like the court jester in this attire. Zelda frowned as she fixed her small sapphire circlet, the ball hadn't even begun yet she already yearned for it to be over.

It was Hyrule's annual ball to celebrate the past chosen heroes and reincarnations of Hylia. But Zelda knew this ball was nothing more than a cesspool of nobles trying to climb their way up the social ladder and prove their worth to the king, the fancy title of the ball was nothing more than a gold plating.

Zelda's gloomy thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. Tonight Link is escorting her to the ball, Knowing that he would be by her side comforted her. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror before she stood and walked over to the door.

She opened the door and tried to suppress a surprised gasp. Link was standing before her wearing the royal guard uniform in place of his usual champion's tunic and Hylian trousers. She's only had the privilege of seeing Link in the royal guard uniform a couple of times before he became her appointed knight. She'd forgotten how handsome he looked wearing it. She suddenly felt self-conscious about her appearance, Link looks so dashing and she feels like a fool in this gown.

She shook the degrading thoughts from her mind and greeted Link with a smile, "Good evening, Link."

"Good evening, princess," Link said as he bowed, "Are you ready to head to the ballroom?"

_Not at all… _

"Yes," Zelda spoke, but she hesitated. She knew Link noticed since he raised his eyebrow and gave her a look. Although he noticed her uneasiness, he didn't press her further, which she was grateful for.

Link offered his arm to Zelda, "Shall we?"

Zelda smiled at his gentlemanly gesture as she gently placed her hand around his bicep. As they began walking towards the ballroom, Zelda couldn't help but notice that Link's eyes kept drifting towards her. She began to feel nervous, was her dress really that ridiculous? Was there something on her face? Was it her absurd hair?

"Y-you look beautiful..." Link stammered.

Zelda felt a blush spread over her cheeks and to the tip of her ears. His compliment left her speechless, Link had never been this straight forward before.

After a few moments, Zelda finally managed to find her voice, "Thank you, Link. You look very handsome in the royal guard uniform."

Link gave her a bashful smile as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, a habit that she's noticed Link does when he's embarrassed.

"Thank you, princess," Link's flustered expression faded as his usual stoic mask returned.

"You're welcome, Link… and thank you for being with me tonight," Zelda thanked Link, she was genuinely grateful for his company this evening.

"Of course, I'll be right by your side," Link reassured her, picking up on her nervousness.

Zelda's eyes lingered on Link for a few seconds longer than normal. As she surveyed his features she couldn't help but think how close they've gotten over the past months, and how her crush on him as grown.

Link was always so kind to not only her but everyone around him. He was a perfect knight, always willing to help someone in need, which Zelda really admired. When Link was first assigned as her appointed knight, Zelda wasn't the nicest to him. She was always finding ways to get rid of him and say rude things in an attempt to make him angry. Despite this, Link never lashed out at Zelda.

After Link saved her from the attempted Yiga assassination, Zelda apologized for her actions and made an effort to understand Link and why he's so distant and reserved from others. Over time, she got Link to open up to her. He explained that with the pressure of wielding the master sword and saving Hyrule from imminent destruction, he closed himself off from others. Being tasked with something so important, he felt as if this was a burden he had to endure by himself.

She realized they were a lot alike. Trying to carry a burden that was impossible to carry alone. They began to grow closer and closer and before Zelda realized it, she had fallen in love with her appointed knight. But Zelda did not know if he felt the same way, a part of her wanted to find out, but she was also scared of being rejected and ruining the friendship that they had developed.

Zelda snapped out of her daydream as they arrived at the ballroom. Sadly, she has to let go of Link's arm. Walking into a royal ball arm in arm with your appointed knight would cause quite the scandal, the last thing she needed right now was for everyone to start gossiping about their relationship, although it's a little too late for that. Zelda frowned at the loss of Link's presence next to her as he took a few steps back, where he was expected to be.

Zelda took a deep breath then proceeded to walk into the ballroom, the poised princess facade shifting into place. Her back straight, head held high and her hands daintily crossed in front of her.

While her expression might've seemed composed, internally she was panicking. Her chest felt heavy and her heart was frantically beating, desperately trying to break free. She felt incredibly light-headed as if she were about to pass out. The anxiety seemed to temporarily deafen her, she couldn't even hear the announcement of her arrival.

She could feel every pair of eyes on her as she descended the grand staircase, silently judging her every move. She could practically hear the whispers of the arrogant nobles talking about how she's a failure of a princess, how she's destined to doom her country. She desperately wants to escape, to run back to the safety of her room. As much as she wanted to run, she couldn't. She took comfort in knowing that Link was still closeby, it gave her the strength to keep moving.

Zelda let out a sigh of relief as she reached the bottom of the staircase. She was glad she managed to enter the ballroom without making a fool of herself. However, the night was far from over.

Zelda spent the next couple hours greeting and thanking the guests for coming to the ball. She had no problem talking to people, it was the type of people she was talking to that was exhausting her. The two-faced nobles bragging about their accomplishments and trying to subtly manipulate Zelda into whatever favor they wanted. To add to her stress, people kept questioning her about her powers and training. Zelda was exhausted, mentally and physically. Her shoulders were tense with anxiety, she felt groggy, and her shoes were hurting her feet. Despite her aching body, she had to persevere, she suppressed her emotions like she always did and kept moving forward.

She spotted her father chatting with lord Victor, someone who she hasn't greeted yet, for good reason. He was a short and stout old man, he looked relatively harmless, but looks can be deceiving, he was quite a vile person. She walked over to them and greeted the two aristocrats with a tender smile and curtsy. Lord Victor bowed to Zelda while her father acknowledged her presence with a cold nod.

"Good evening princess Zelda," Lord Victor fixed his monocle as he eyed Zelda, she met his scrutinizing gaze as he continued, "Oh my! You've grown so much since I've last seen you! You look just like your mother!"

Zelda smiled even though his compliment was insincere, "Thank you lord Victor for your kind words, I'm glad you've made it to the ball tonight."

"Of course, thank you for having me," he changed the subject, "so princess, how has your training been going? Have you unlocked your powers?"

Zelda cringed, of course he had to ask that dreaded question. Zelda pretended nothing was wrong and responded, "Unfortunately, I have not accessed my sealing powers yet, but I make sure to devote myself to Hylia in prayer every day."

"Maybe you aren't devoting enough of your time to praying, are you even taking it seriously?" Lord Victor said as he gave Zelda a disapproving look.

"Maybe if you devoted more time to praying instead of playing around with Sheikah technology you would have unlocked your sealing powers by now." King Rhoam added.

Zelda's blood began to boil, she was tired of being asked the same question over and over again, only to be met with disappointed stares and unsolicited advice. She was tired of everyone assuming that she wasn't serious about her training, that she wasn't serious about saving Hyrule when they didn't know how many late nights she spent praying, how many hours she poured into reading ancient texts, how many colds she got from praying in the springs too long, only to be met with failure.

Her father's comment set her over the edge, she bit her tongue in an attempt to contain her tears. She wished her father recognized how hard she was working to unlock her powers, but no matter what she did it wasn't enough. Even if it was just once, she wanted to hear her father say that he was proud of her and he recognized how much effort she is putting into unlocking her powers. But it wouldn't matter how hard she tried, he wouldn't be proud of her until she succeeded.

"Father, Lord Victor, thank you for your input, I will take it into consideration," she was lying, she just said what they wanted to hear so she could escape as soon as possible, "I believe Hylia will grant me my powers when the time is right. Now, if you'll excuse me."

She had enough, Zelda swiftly turned around and started making her way towards the gardens that were situated outside the ballroom. Behind her, she heard Link's rapid footsteps struggling to keep up with her. Even though her feet were aching, Zelda walked as fast as possible to the fountain that was located in the middle of the gardens.

Zelda buried her face into her hands as she sat on the edge of the fountain, she couldn't contain her emotions anymore and silently let her tears fall. She felt Link sit beside her and soothingly rub her back, they were surrounded by tall rose bushes so she didn't have to worry about the prying eyes of other party-goers. The lively melody of the orchestra could faintly be heard along with the running water from the fountain, the cool summer breeze combined with Link's consoling touch and the occasional whisper of "it's okay" calmed Zelda down to a point where she was no longer crying.

"Why is my best never good enough?" Zelda asked.

"I can tell something has been bothering you all evening, even before you spoke to your father and Lord Victor... " Link spoke softly, encouraging her to continue talking.

She leaned into Link's reassuring touch and took a deep breath before she explained her feelings, "I dread coming to this ball every year, everyone is judging me for not accessing my powers and trying to tell me what I'm doing wrong... "

Zelda paused trying to find the right words to say when she felt Link's hands grab hers, gently running his thumb across her knuckles. She lifted her head and looked into Link's eyes, his gaze was soft and full of affection, which made her heart flutter.

"I feel like I'm deceiving everyone, I have the blood of the goddess in me yet I haven't unlocked my powers, a power that is necessary for saving Hyrule. Everyone must think that I'm a joke… even my own dad thinks I'm a failure, I know he pushes me because he wants me to succeed, but it's too much pressure. "

"Zelda, you're not a failure," Link responded quickly. "I see how hard you work, how many hours you devote yourself to praying. You're trying your best and taking your duty seriously, I'm sorry that others don't recognize that, especially your dad, it's not fair."

"My father sees me as just Hylia reincarnated, not as Zelda, his daughter, he doesn't recognize that I am my own person with aspirations of my own..."

Link kneeled on the ground in front of her, still holding her hands. The position reminded her of the ceremony in the sacred grounds, except this time Link's head was upright and his cerulean eyes pierced into hers.

"I see you, Zelda. And I'm sure he does too, but just doesn't know how to show it. I believe that you'll unlock your powers, I'll be right by your side to support you as you work towards unlocking your sealing powers. I have faith in you."

Link's words warmed her heart, hearing him say that he believed in her filled her with a newfound determination.

"Thank you, Link for your kind words and encouragement. It means a lot to me," Zelda said as she smiled brightly. She was truly thankful to have Link's support. "I'm sorry for being such an emotional wreck tonight."

"You don't need to apologize for your emotions, you have every right to feel the way you do," Link gave her hands an affectionate squeeze, "Besides, you always listen to me when I have troubles, it's the least I can do."

His words offered a sense of relief to Zelda. Her tense shoulders loosened, her mind no longer hazy from her anxious thoughts. He was right, she shouldn't apologize for how she feels. Now that she has composed herself, she knows she has to go back inside soon, but there was something she wanted to do first.

"Will you dance with me?" Zelda asked.

"I'd love to, just to warn you, dancing isn't my strong suit."

"Don't worry, It's not mine either," Zelda chuckled.

With their hands still intertwined, Zelda helped Link stand. She extended her right arm outwards while she rested her left hand on his shoulder, she felt Link shyly place his right hand on her back. The refined tune from the piano in the ballroom filled the night sky as they started to dance. It was slightly awkward, neither of them being the best dancer Hyrule has ever seen. But it was with Link, so to her, it was perfect.

Their eyes connected and Zelda found herself lost in his passionate gaze. They unconsciously moved closer to each other, their faces were so close Zelda could see the faint freckles that were sprinkled across Link's nose and cheeks, she suppressed the desire to lean in and kiss each one. They were hardly dancing anymore, both were too caught up in the romantic moment they were sharing, for a moment it felt as if time had stopped and they were the only two people in Hyrule. They just lightly swayed while gazing into each other's eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Link quickly glance down at her lips, then look back into her eyes. She wondered if he wanted to kiss her, Zelda's cheeks glowed a deep crimson and her knees went weak just at the thought of kissing him.

By now the piano had stopped playing its slow elegant tune and moved onto a more upbeat song. Zelda reluctantly spoke, "We should head back inside..."

Link nodded, but neither of them moved, their hands still intertwined and Link's right hand not moving from its place on her back. Neither of them wanted to break this dream-like state they were in.

After a few moments, Link was the first one to pull away. Zelda sighed at the emptiness, his warmth being replaced by the cool summer breeze. A small part of her wished that she and Link could stay here all night laughing and dancing poorly. Maybe if she was a normal teenage girl they could, but she was a princess.

Zelda leaned in and pressed a kiss to Link's cheek, the woodsy scent of Link made her feel intoxicated. When she pulled away, she saw the slightest color of pink wash over his cheeks. Zelda was quite pleased with herself knowing that she was the cause of his adorable embarrassed expression, she let out a triumphant giggle as Link rubbed the back of his neck and shyly glanced away.

"Thank you for tonight Link, for encouraging me and dancing with me."

"Of course," Link replied.

Zelda turned towards the ballroom and inhaled, taking a moment to prepare herself for the rest of the night. She felt Link give her a pat on the shoulder, a gesture that might seem insignificant but it gave her the courage she needed to move forward.

"Ready?" Link asked.

"Now I am," Zelda replied.


End file.
